Bodies of 17 Army personnel killed in avalanche sent home

Srinagar: Bodies of 17 Army personnel,
including an officer, killed in an avalanche at Khilanmarg in
North Kashmir on Monday were flown to their home towns by two
special flights today.

The bodies of the personnel were brought to Srinagar
late last evening, Defence Spokesman Colonel JS Bar said.

He said four of the personnel belonged to Jammu and
four to Punjab. Nine bodies were flown to Delhi where from
they would be flown to Rajasthan, Manipur, Nepal, Indore and
Ranchi.

A massive avalanche had slammed the popular ski resort
of Gulmarg on Monday, killing 17 soldiers and injuring an
equal number when the tragedy struck troops during winter
warfare training on steep slopes at Khilanmarg, 70 kms from
here.

The avalanche came hurtling down on the 60-strong
combat team as they were scaling the icy walls of
high-altitude Khilanmarg peak in near zero visibility.

The condition of 17 injured soldiers was stable, Brar
said.

The high altitude areas of the valley have been lashed
by heavy snowfall since February five while the plains
including Srinagar have been lashed by incessant rains and
snow.